


It was a bee sting, honest!

by xtenn



Series: The Viscount Who Sure As Hell Didn't Deserve Kate [3]
Category: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:01:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29066994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtenn/pseuds/xtenn
Summary: What if Kate had kept her wits about her, after being stung by that bee? And let us never underestimate Violet Bridgerton ...All credit and thanks to Ms Quinn for her amazing characters and stories.
Relationships: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sheffield
Series: The Viscount Who Sure As Hell Didn't Deserve Kate [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129715
Comments: 15
Kudos: 108





	It was a bee sting, honest!

_For a split second, everyone remained frozen as if in a tableau. Kate stared at the three matrons in shock. They stared back at her in utter horror. And Anthony kept trying to suck the venom from Kate’s bee sting, completely oblivious to the fact that they had an audience._

_Of the quintet, Kate found her voice—and her strength—first, shoving with all her might against Anthony’s shoulder as she let out an impassioned cry of, “Stop!”_

_Caught off guard, he proved surprisingly easy to dislodge, and he landed on his bum on the ground, his eyes still burning with determination to save her from what he perceived as her deathly fate._

_"Anthony?” Lady Bridgerton gasped, her voice quavering on her son’s name, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing._

_He twisted around. “Mother?”_

_“Anthony, what were you doing?”_

_“She was stung by a bee,” he said grimly._

Kate considered her options quickly, her hands frantically pulling at her dress, while her eyes flicked to the three matrons in front of her. Lady Bridgerton: sad and contemplative; Mary: deeply horrified and ashamed; and Mrs Featherington: triumphant. Anthony on his backside, sprawled on the ground where Kate had pushed him. You wanted to marry him, a perverse part of her thought, and here is your chance - but this was quickly overruled by her internal voice, delivering crushing blows to her ego: Anthony did not desire her, at all, and whether there was a marriage or not, a scandal would surely follow. Think, Kate! What was the better of these evils? Surely, to ensure that Anthony was free - and would not be bound to her, for life?

"Indeed, it's very painful, right here on my collarbone - I fainted," Kate added breathily, trying to sound overcome, a verified damsel in distress. Why can't I simply faint on cue? Kate cursed. "I don't know what came over me, please forgive me, my Lord. Mary, please help me back to the house. I'm quite unwell. If it hadn't been for Lord Bridgerton coming across me when swooned, I... well, I just do not know what ...and when I awoke, I panicked!"

"Yes well, thank you Lord Bridgerton," Mary added with more suspicion and sarcasm than gratitude. "Now come quickly darling girl, let's get you back to the house."

"Please, Miss Sheffield, allow me to ..." Anthony started to say, getting to his feet hastily. But he was swiftly silenced by both Mary and Lady Bridgerton sharply commenting in unison that he had done quite enough already. Mary gathered Kate into her arms, and led her as quickly as she could away from the scene in the garden, turning back only to pierce Anthony with a look of such disgust and repulsion as to cause the Viscount to step back in shock. Is this how I am considered by her family? 

"Well!" Mrs Featheringon chimed in, filling the tense silence that followed. "What a tidy piece of gossip this will be, my lord. Unless you plan on marrying the chit, of course. But even then! The tons most fervent bachelor, bought down by a bee! Who will believe that?"

Anthony saw red, and were it not for the gentle pressure of his mother's hand on his chest, the gossip would have been scandalous indeed.

"I fail to see how you have any say in the matter, Portia," Lady Bridgerton coolly responded. "And for my own part, I will not see my guest and friend's daughter's reputation besmirched in any way, particularly not in my house during my party, by any of my guests."

Mrs Featherington knew instantly how quickly her own invitation, and that of her daughters, could be revoked, and flushed lightly at this subtle reminder of the tenuous nature of her social standing. "Oh but of course," Mrs Featherington simpered. "You may always have faith in my discretion. Let us only hope that no one was looking into the gardens from the house."

"No matter if they were," Violet added, a gentle waver in her voice only slightly betraying her nerves. "Now Anthony, go fetch the doctor - we must ensure Miss Sheffield receives all due care. She was stung by a bee, after all."

\-------

Anthony had his head in his hands when the study door opened. His glass sat on the desk in front of him, the liquor poured in an attempt to calm himself, but it remained undrunk. At the sight of his mother, he leapt to his feet, his heart racing at the prospect of news.

"Tell me she is well."

Violet pursed her lips, her hands clasping and unclasping in anxious thought. "Miss Sheffield will make a full recovery," Violet began, watching her son slump back to his chair in relief. "Dr Martin will stay for dinner, and has already regaled the drawing room of the circumstances of your father's death and Miss Sheffield's good fortune in being so gallantly and swiftly rescued by you, after fainting from a poisonous bee sting in the garden. His is a career that you would do well to support in future. And, of course, all of these facts are supported in full by the account of Mrs Featherington."

Violet paused in her pacing to fix him with her stare, adding bitterly, "It is undoubtedly the talk of the season. You are quite the hero."

Anthony reached out for his drink, but something in Violet's expression made him hesitant to take a sip. "Well, that is … excellent news," he softly commented, knowing that this conversation was far from over. 

Violet suddenly turned on him, slamming her hand against his desk: "How could you do this, Anthony? How could you?" she cried out, her voice breaking. Anthony wondered if he had ever seen her this enraged.

"She was stung by a bee!" 

Violet scoffed, raising her hands in disbelief. "That's right, of course she was! And yesterday in the gardens after the Pall Mall game? Or late last night in the library? What are your excuses for dallying - alone! - with Kate Sheffield then? And do not, do not dare to deny it."

"Mother, you encouraged me to walk in the gardens only yesterday - knowing she was there," Anthony tried to protest. 

"Yes, Anthony - _walk_ in the gardens. Not rip the bodice of a young woman who you clearly have no intention of marrying!"

"That's not ..." Anthony started to say, but he knew it was a lie: Kate was too desirable, too lush - far too dangerous a proposition for marriage. 

"I have turned a blind eye and tolerated your many indiscretions for too long. Now, in our own home, at my house party - with a lady, my friend's daughter! The sister of the woman who you have declared you will propose to!"

"Do you think so little of me?!" Anthony interjected. "I swear, nothing indiscrete has happened!" Not for lack of fervent desire, he added to himself.

Violet merely scoffed again. "Would the same sentiment be felt by any male relative of Miss Sheffield? Of which there are conveniently none - a fact I'm certain you're aware of!"

Anthony flushed, and wisely chose silence.

"I thought as much," Violet hissed. "I know in my heart that none of the responsibility for this lies with that young woman - and I can only praise her for her quick thinking when caught with you by the likes of Mrs Featherington."

Anthony raised his eyebrows in agreement, running his finger idly around the rim of his glass, and thinking back to the interlude in his study at the musicale - did his mother know about that, too? 

"If this - any of this - were to come to light?" Violet continued, "Your position and wealth means that any censure you would suffer would be fleeting at best - but Anthony, think for a moment what it would certainly mean for the Sheffields, with their limited means. Abandoning Miss Sheffield to any rumour of her being compromised would cut her from society forever, even in her small town - and marrying her, when you have not dignified her with a public courtship, would make her the object of constant, cruel speculation. Your name would spare you, but it certainly wouldn't spare her."

"Enough, Mother." Anthony swallowed his whiskey in a single mouthful, unable to take more guilt without fortification. He had yet to eat that day, and the alcohol roared in his ears. He had spent too long berating himself for the vivid fantasies of Kate, his Kate, wrapped around him in a tangle of limbs, of her being his very own, and had worked hard to withhold his desire for her - then, to have believed she would die, and now to hear exactly how he had ruined her - action was long overdue. "I am a man of honor. I will fix this - I will talk to Kate, and I could …"

" _Kate_?" Violet huffed in disbelief at this casual use of a first name. "Well, keep in mind that Mrs Sheffield has made it abundantly clear that you are not to approach or be alone in the company of Miss Sheffield - either of them - ever again. You are fortunate indeed they haven't left immediately for the safety of their own home in London, and have agreed to keep this matter quiet for the sakes of their own reputations - much less yours. We owe Mrs Sheffield our sincerest apologies given your actions towards her daughters. Be grateful for that mercy - and do me the favour of seriously contemplating the consequences of your actions - but do not pretend you are not relieved to hear that the lady _will not have you_."

And having landed her final blow, Lady Bridgerton swept from the room, slamming the door behind her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I'm quite enjoying making life hard for Anthony Bridgerton.


End file.
